Storage pile material handling apparatus



Sept. 18, 1951 J. E. DUNASKY STORAGE FILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUSFiled April 21, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Jase ak E. Dun/as] BY 7"E? v b t ATTORNEYS Sept. 18, 1951 J. E. DUNASKY STORAGE PILE MATERIALHANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1945 INVENTOR.Joseph E. Dunasky- BY ATTORNEYS l A a i ll mw R mm mm Sept. 18, 1951 u s2,568,434

STORAGE FILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1945 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. U Joseph E. Dunasky Y F17. 1n Q1 6 7 ATTORNEYSPatented Sept. 18, 1951 v STORAGE PILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUSJoseph E. Dunasky, Cleveland, Ohio Application April 21, 1945, SerialNo. 589,621

This invention relates to improvements in material handling apparatusand, more particularly, to equipment for reclaiming i. e., recovering,granular bulk material, such as ore, coal, and the like from stock orstorage piles or bins.

' Where bulk material is stored on the ground in piles exposed to theweather and recovered'from such piles by dragline or overhead bucketsystems, the operations are slowed and reserve man-power must bemaintained during the times that the storage piles are usually mostheavily drawn upon, namely, during freezing weather, when the removal offrozen material takes on the aspects of a quarrying operation. When suchopen pile systems are used for bedding and blending operations, 2.further difliculty is presented in recovering vertically extendingsections of the pile (which is built up from horizontally extendinglayers of different analyses) so that the average analysis of recoveredstock is substantially constant. Such bedding and blending operationsare becoming of increasing importance as a means for eifecting betterproduction control. At the present time, the most successful equipmentfor reclaiming stock in such bedding operations em- Dloys at least onelarge scraper which is laid against a vertically sloping transverse faceof the pile; the scraper is reciprocated to scrape mate rial oil theface of the pile, the scraped material falling to the base of the pile,whence it is conveyed by plow and belt conveyer systems to a centralrecovery point. A major objection to such equipment is that both thelarge initial cost and the operating and maintenance costs materiallyaffect the cost of the bedding operation. Bin systems, in which materialis reclaimed through manually operated or controlled gates in the bottomof the bins, are sometimes employed where it is necessary to prevent thedeleterious effects of exposure to weather, but such storage bin systemsare often objectionable because of the difficulty in operating the gatesand because such bins often enhance segregation between large and fineparticles in the stored material. Bin systems having anywhere near theusual capacity of open storage piles would also usually be prohibitivelyexpensive for materials such as iron ore, coal, gravel, and the like.

t is the object of my invention to provide reclaiming apparatus which isrelatively inexpensive and yet substantially fully automatic inoperation, requiring a minimum of operating, supervising, andmaintenance personnel. It is a further object of my invention to provideapparatus for continuously reclaiming material from travel of the car.

15 Claims. (Cl. 21410) a vertically sloping face of the body of storedmaterial, thus making my equipment particularly advantageous for beddingand blending operations. My apparatus may be used either in connectionwith open storage piles or bins having a continuous bottom; when used inconnection with storage piles, the operation is not seriously effectedby freezing Weather, when used in. connection with a continuous bottombin, the difficulty with gate operation is eliminated and the effect ofsegregation is reduced, if not eliminated. More specifically, it is theobject of my invention to provide a continuous gate system automaticallyopened and closed by and in combination with a belt conveyer loader;this apparatus may be incorporated in an underground conveyer gallerybeneath a storage pile or attached to the bottom of a storage bin. HOther objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification, claims, and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an open storage pile and associatedconveyer gallery employing my apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation, partly in section, of myapparatus as shown in. Fig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken along the line 3--3 of Fig.10.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken alongthe line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

n Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the hopper car shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a top plan detail of the continuous gate shown in section inFig. 4.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail, partly broken away, of a gate locking lugand hinge shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the line 8--8 ofFig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 9-9 of Fig.'7.

Fig. 10 is a detail elevation of the hopper car showing the position ofthe elements thereof, in relation to the gate structure, during returnIn the illustrative embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings,the long bedding and blending stock pile Ill (shown only in transversesection in Fig. 1) is built up of several successive horizontal layersof material Illa, lflb, et cetera,

and is held above the underground tunnel H by means of the gradedembankments l2 and i3. The parallel embankments l2 and I3 areconveniently formed when excavating for the tunnel l I, though obviouslyany other convenient parallel side supports for the pile l0' may beemployed.

The stock pile 10 may be built up by any suitable overhead tripperconveyer system (not shown) which will dump material between theembankments; the stock pile so formed usually extends for the length ofthe tunnel H. In actual stock yard practise, several parallel piles areusually employed, the overhead tripper conveyor running between theparallel piles and the conveyer belts in the several. tunnels loadingonto a collector belt adjacent thedischarge ends of thetunnels. For thepurposes of this invention, however, only one stock pile I need beshown.

The concrete tunnel l I providesa-conveyer belt.

Hopper car, drive, and operation The hopper car 7.11,, asshown inFigs... 2,, l, and 5,, is. comprised of a mainframe. 2| supported onthe. rear wheels. 22 and. front. drive. wheels, 23.,

which run on. the rails. Hi. In the embodiment the rear portion of the,hopper car 2'!) carries. the hopper 2.5,, which. is. comprised of anupper four-sided. hopper box 26. open. at. the top and bottom. Below thehopper box,. converging side wear platesZl. and front plate 28direetmaterial falling through. the hopper box onto the bottom pusherplate. 311 mountedv for longitudinal reciprocating movement onv thetransverse rollers 29 carried below the hopper 25. The rear. of thehopper 25. below thehopper box isopen, the: sides of the hopper adjacentthe. pusher. plate- 3!] extending rearwardly to. provide tail plates 34;for directing material discharged from the: end of the. pusher plate.and the rear of the. hopper onto the center of the conveyer belt l5..

The drive. for the particular hopper car shown comprises an upper powertake-elf. sheave: 32 mounted close enough to. the. forward. end oi thehopper car 20 that the upper lay of the belt L when. lifted from. the,troughing. rolls. is to. pass over the sheave 32', will clear the.-front end of the hopper car. Located forwardly of the upper sheave 32 isthe lower power take-oft sheave. 33, the conveyer belt. 15 passing firstaround the upper sheave 32 and then around thelower sheave 33,suflicient. wrap being obtained to drive both. From the lower sheave, 33the belt 15 drops down onto the troughing rolls [:5 which support thebelt as it receives material discharged from. the hopper 25,. as. shownin Fig. 4.

The upper sheave 32 is, provided with outboard cranks 35 which, throughthe pivoted yekes: 36 andconnecting rods 3.1, pivotally connected to theends of' the. yokes. 36 and the forward end ot the pusher plate 30,reciprocate the pusher plate 30 to discharge material from the rear ofthe hopper 25. The lower sheave 33- is provided with an outboardsprocket 34 which,.through the chain 38, drives the. input shaft- 3-9.of the two-stage gear reducer 40. The first-stage, or high-speedrteversing, output shaft 41 of the reducer 4.8 drives the front cardrive. wheels 23- through. the clutch 42 and sprocket. drive 43.. Thesecond-sta s 01 low-speed. forward, output shaft 44 of the re ducer 40drives the. front car drive wheels. 23- through the clutch 45 and.sprocketdrire 46- the tunnel I I.

From the foregoing it should be apparent that, with. the clutch, 45engaged, the hopper car will; be driven forwardly through the tunnel IIas the conveyer belt moves rearwardly carrying -material discharged fromthe hopper the forward movement of the car 20 being slow relative to therearward speed of the conveyer belt due. tothe reduction efiected by thereducer 40. At the forward end of the travel, the yoke 41 is shifted.either. manually or by a suitable shifting, cam; (not. shown).- mountedon. the; side: of. the tunnel- 1.1.. With the clutch 42 engaged, arelatively quick returnrof th er an to theitear end of thetunnel is;obtained Where-theyokefl is again. shifted to obtain forward travel,thus completing the cycleof reciprocating. travel of h meroar thr u htheolength of the tunnel Ll... Qbviously,.the forwardor belt-loading.travel or he car. ontra o the movement-of the belt L5. a mere matter ofchoice the, only reqpiresment being that the. belt. convey discha ged atterial. away from the hopper, car. Thus, it ...e rotational directions.-of the,- output shafts 4,1 nd M1 were reversed, the rear-end of thehopper car would, become. the forward end and, in, so. far a thebelt-loading would be; concerned. the hopper car would operate Just as.well. thou h the belt and car wouldbe moving, in they same d re tion.

The drive. of. the hopper car by means of a Power takewfi from thonveyor bel is. pro.- Ierred. because. of its safety; sin-lplicity, andpre determined ratio. between, belt. speed; and car travel. Obviously,within the scope vof this i vention. variable. speed devices may be inur porated, if desired, or the, car and hopper (11%- eharge may be.driven by other ui a m an as, tor example, by electric motors. receivingtheir power from trolleys orthird rails. Where means other. than. aflexible conveyer belt, such; as low conveyors, chutes, etc. are employd. to. con-veg material. away from the hopper car or its equive: lent, 8motor drive may be preferred or even required.

fi'ont'inuous gate structure and operation thereof Serving as. a.ceiling for the. tunnel H; and a floor. for the. stock pile l0throughout. its length is the continuous. gate structure. 50. supported;by he longitudinally extending cantilever beams Id of the tunnel I l.The, continuous ate struc: ture 50 is. comprised. of a pair of parallelTesecs tion side members 5|- anchored. to the beams 14, said sidemembers 5! carrying, atadiaoent edge or their horizontal webs, channels52 in which ample, the gate plates close the, gate space be-i tween, theside members 51;, when un$upported, the gate plates 54 fall rearwardly(since they are. supported at their rear edge by the pins 53) 'toopenthe. gate space between the side meme has it sh s n. iherer ion of th ss structure above the hopper 25 in Fig. 4. Thus, material normallysupported above the gate plates 54 will fall through the gate spaceandinto the hopper 25 (since the gate plate opening and closing iscontrolled by the movement of the hopper car 26, as explained below).

As best shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the gate plates 54 are held in theirnormally closed position by the pivotally mounted locking lugs 55. Thelocking lugs 55 are carried in pairs, each lug being oppositely mountedin a side member 5| on a shouldered pivot bo1t56 and hanger strap 51.The hanger strap is supported by the pivot bolt 56 and hanger bolt 56;the shoulder on the pivot bolt 56 and the washer 59, carried by the bolt58, prevent the bolts 56 and 53 from being tightened until the log 55 isjammed between the hanger strap 51 and the horizontal web of the sidememher 5!. In addition to supporting the lug 55, the hanger strap 51extends betweenthe forwardly divergent depending releasing cam face 60and locking cam face 6| of the lug 55 to limit the pivotal movement ofthe lug 55. Thus, 'as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, when the lugs 55 are swungtoward each other to project beyond the inner edges of the side'members5i and engage the under-surface of a corresponding gate plate 54, thegateplates are held in their normally closed position; when the lugs 55are swung apart, the gate plates 54 drop and the continuous gate isopened above the hopper 25, the gate plates falling into the upperopening in the hopper box 26. To minimize friction as the gate is openedand closed, the upper and lower surfaces of the lugs 55, the lowersurfaces of the plates 54, and the upper surface of the strap 5'! arepreferably finished and lubricated, although, as explained below, theload on the lugs 55 is at least partially,

ifnot completely, relieved as the gate is opened and closed.

The means for opening and closing the gate plates 54 (so that thecontinuous gate structure 50 is automatically opened only over thehopper box 26) is a gate operating assembly 15, carried in the upperportion of the hopper box 26. The assembly is comprised of a frame 62journalecl for vertical movement in the antifriction rollers 63 carriedby the upper, portion of the hopper box 26. (See Fig. 3.) Parallel sidesof the frame 62 rest on rollers 64 mounted on pins 65, each pin 65extending through a suitable arcuate slot 65 in the hopper box 26. Eachpin 65 is supported in the arms of a pivotally mounted fork 61.Journaled in the frame 62 and extending slightly above it are a pair oftransverse gate platerolls, a forward roller 68 and a rear roller 69,the bearing surfaces of the rollers 68 and 69.,being located so thatthey will engage the plates 54 inwardly of the locking lugs 55. Mountedon the frame .62 slightly forwardly and outwardly of the bearingsurfaces of the roller 68 are a pair of lug-releasing cams havinginwardly converging forward surfaces. Mounted slightly rearwardly of theroller 69 are a pair of lug-locking cams H having slightly outwardlydiverging forward surfaces. I

The minimum lateral space between the face of a releasing cam 10 and theface of its corre sponding locking cam H is slightly greater than theminimum distance between the cam faces 60 and 6| of a lug 55, the cam l0and H being spaced on the frame 52 so that, as the rollers bear againstthe plates 54 and as the hopper car- 20 moves forwardly in the tunnel ll, the'cams Hi will first engage the releasing cam faces 60 of a pair oflocking lugs 55 to move the lugs outwardly to their releasing position;the corresponding plate 54 thus drops to its open vertical position.Then, as the car 20 continues to move forward, the opened, verticallyhanging plate 54 will be engaged by the rear plate roller 69, lifted toits horizontal position and, while so lifted, the locking cams II willengage the locking cam faces 61 of the corresponding lugs 55 to swingthe lugs 55 inwardly, thus locking the plate 54 in its normal closedposition.

Thus it will be seen from the foregoing that, as the hopper car isdriven forwardly in the tunnel l l, the gate operating assembly I5,comprised essentially of the frame 62 carrying the rollers 68 and 69 andthe cams 1|] and H, does, in effect, automatically zipper the continuousgate 50 open and closed as the hopper 25 passes under the gate.

To insure that the rollers 68 and 69 will engage the plates 54 and,also, to allow for unevenness in the plates and the joints between them,the pairs of the forks 61 on each side of the hopper box 26 are tiedtogetherthrough the fork shaft 11. Thus, all forks 51 move in unison.During forward movement the forks are pivoted so that the pins 65 are inthe forward portions of the arcuate slots 66 below the crowns thereof,the maximum vertical distance between the crowns of the slots 66 and theunder-surface of the plates 54 and the vertical height of the gateoperating assembly 15 being such that the rollers 68 and 69 will engagethe under-surface of the plates 54 before the forks 61 can be pivotedrearwardly past their vertical position. The forward forks 61 areprovided with bell-crank extensions 18 which engage the pin 19 of thecompression spring assemblies 80, which assemblies tend to urge theforks 61 rearwardly of their vertical position. Thus, during forwardtravel of the hopper car, the rollers 68 and 69 are held against theplates 54 by the resilient influence of the compression springassemblies 8!]. Further, to the extent that the load of the material onthe plates '54 is carried by the resilient vertical pressure of therollers 68, the frictional load on the lugs 55 is relieved as the plates54 are released for opening the continuous gate 50.

To permit the return movement of the hopper car, the car travels forwardunder the apron 3| beyond the forward end of the gate 50. The undersurface of the apron is relieved to permit rollers 68 and 69 to beraised above the level of the gate 50 and, thus, to permit the forks 6!to be moved rearwardly of their vertical position. As the roller 69clears the edge of the apron Bl, the shifting bar 16 strikes the block82, which action, plus the influence of spring assemblies 86, firstraises and then drops the assembly 15 as the pins 65 move rearwardly inthe slots 66. The rearward ends of the slots 66 are well below theircrowns, so that, as shown in Fig. 10, the rollers 68 and 69 and cams Illand H are safely clear of the plates 54 and lugs 55 when the hopper caris returned to its starting position. To raise the assembly 15 to itsgate operating position, a shifting lever actuating block 83, similar tothe block 82, is provided at the other end of the tunnel.

Summary It should be apparent from the foregoing that this inventionprovides a substantiallyfully automatic means for reclaiming storedmaterials, requiring, in general, only supervisory personnel to startand stop the reclaiming operations.

Maintenance r quirementsare, gehera ,.nii i nailed; the sate plates;employed the disclosed nreierred embodiment are. self-clearing, as willbe. apparent from Fi e; hus, there. is lit l possi ilityfor jamming thegate plates: 54- durin openin and closin substantially all otheronei'ating parts. areprotected from weather and the material.

In usingthe embodiment disclosed for blend.- hg materi ls. i is theusual. practise to recla m an entire stock pile buildup. of horizontallayers orbeds or. the materials to be ble ded and then to buil up newnile only after a r elaim dpi e as been entirely removed. This ype of prcti means. hat. the op r ion f the eonvey r b lt, and; cons qu ntly, thate-op nin h pper a is topp d b fore th hepp r car starts to repe a recaiming t ip 1 @11 peri d f im r qui d to rebuild another pile. In thisconnection, it she id be noted that. this apparatus blends, the ds in.horizon al beds: in he p le. bec use, a. t pens, it, in effect, r movean p when.

w rd y slan ing slice of the horizo al ay rs: in

he pile; ii each layer we, Nib, et cetera, is eq al. i hickn s thro h uh en th of th pile, then, ofcourse, the average composition of he su cesive ice re oved y th penin of suc essive: g tes. w ll b sub t ially onsa t. Of. course f. he apparatus s sed m y fo re c a min w thout reg dvto blending, r if bed din s accomplished y u ldin up a pea d pattern. oflayers sl p n a a an le c n re. to the an leoi the slices; removed bythe successive ra ion i th at plat s. su h. bl n g preetise isbetteradapted to blendin bins drawing from a variety or stools piles of knowncompo-,- -i on. ath r than f Storage pi es then, of course, itispossible to operate the apparatus without interruption (oth r than forquick; re-- rn of the ho per car) bybu l in p a new pile on a cl aredportion. f the ate 50 Whil the hopper isv reclaimipgmaterialfrom an oldpil n; fact, if such. c nt nuo ope t on. f he hopper car'is.contemplated, it is possible to adopt the gate to a circular orcircuitform, rather than h s r h -line form d s l edt also to b n ted thataseach gate plate 54 is opened, material supported thereon will tend tosurge into the hopper car. To accommodate ch u n t length of the hopperbox and the longitudinal distance between the rollers and am of the e pa ing sembl 'gfj are purposely designed so that an imme-. diatelyprecedinggate plate will be open for a period f ime afterits s ce ding ep ate. s open, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, material which mi ht shi l ovrh op ing f a e n y pened a e pl e will. usu y f l t ro h th op ning ofthe immediately preceding and still unclosed at The apa i y of h h pperZ is. of course, d i e o ac mo u h r es of: a ial so th tmater a wi l fd o to he conveve belt at a substantially constant rate. Becausematerial is reclaimed from the bottom of; the pile the d m ul s he tfore e c untere W h open plie d ng freez n weath r ar l r e y overcome.When material is Withdrawn, any u pported fr zen crust of ma r al willus a y break up of its own Weight as it drops onto the foot of the pile;if the crust becomes so thick that it tends to form a complete arch overthe gat suc n un upp d ar h ay b bro n with. r la ve eas It should beapparent that the. above disclosed generally p eferred em odimeht ay bealte ed or m fied; e ther i who e or i part. t medate. my: invention topec fic u e tuati. Thus, for example, itis. readily apparent that pycontinuous: gate s ru ture a d peratin ass mbly 15 mayb attach d to the.om; f a storag bin. Further, while my tr ver e y pivoted gate plates 541are generally preferred because. oftheir simplicity, their inherentstrength which requires no. bracing which would interfere with the. flowof material, their self clearing operation, and. other desirablecharacteristics, other types of gates may, within the broad; scopeofthis invention, be, employ d: for exam le, longitudinally-pivoted gateplates or sliding ate plates. (with the necessary modification of thecamrning action. of the operating assembly 15). may-be mploy d. It is:app en r for tha the scope. of this invention is; not limited to the lls r tive Preferred embo iment discl ed: bu bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In material handling apparatus of the class described, alongitudinally extending trough-.- shaped means, a. continuous gatestructure at; the bottom of said trough means, said gate structurecomprising spaced support. members extending along the bottom of saidtrough means, a plurality of adjacent gate members normally closing thespace between said supporting members to serve as a floor for saidtrough means, said gate members being movable to an open position,whereby material in said trough will flowbetween said spaced support.members, and means associated with each of said gate mom-.-

' bers for locking each of said gate members its closed positionindependently of adjacent gate members, means movable beneath said gatestructure to act. onsaid locking means to release said gate members,means to drive said gate lock actuating means beneath said gate.structure to successively unlock; said gate members and open integersofthe gategopening; means to convey away material falling through the'sucs.

' cess-ively opened integers of the gate opening,

and gate closing means operatively connected with said gate unlockingmeans and following said gate unlocking means to move said gate membersto their normally closed position and relock said gates in their closedposition.

2. In material handling apparatusof' the class described, troughingmeans, a conveyor gallery below said troughing meansga continuous gatestructure serving as a 11001; for said troughjng.

means and as a ceiling for said gallery, said gate stru re e ng cmprised of a plur l y o diacen g members m vable f m. orm lly clos d.posi on. o an open po ition a eonv er mo able hrough aid all y. and gaop rating means to. open said sate mem ers. n succession, and means o.drive aid; conveyor and operate said. sate. perating means. in timedrelat ons ip to the movement oi said eenvey r,

n material hand ing; apparatus of the class d scribed! a. conv rter.gallery, a cont nuous sa structure for supporting granular materialthere-. on a d s ving as a ceiling for ai eohvey r e l r aid gatestructur omprising pa a el spac d supporting m mbe s a plu i y Qi adia=cent ga e m mb rs, pivo lly moun ed to c ose the s ace; be we n sa d. sppo emb rs. and mova le. under the. nfluen e o ma er l sue: po ted. theron to,- a posit on. openin the s ace between aid up ort members, and mens. tQ-lee s sa d. sates timed pos tion. a eoii erer movable throughsaid gallery beneath said gate structure, and means operating in'timedrelationship to the movement of said conveyor to open said gate membersin succession and allow material to flow through the opened spacebetween saidsupport members, means to direct material flowing throughsaid gate structure to saidconveyer, and means to close and relock saidgate members after said gate members have been opened. a r

4. In material handling apparatus of the class described, a conveyergallery, a continuous gate structure for supporting granular materialthereon and serving as a ceiling for said conveyer gallery, saidcontinuous gate structure comprising parallel support members, aplurality of adjacent gate members pivotally mounted to open and closethe space between said support members, said gate members being movablefrom a closed to open position by the weight of material supportedthereon, and means associated with each of said gate members for lockingsaid gate members in their closed position, a conveyer movable in saidgallery, a hopper car movable in said gallery beneath said gatestructure and above said conveyer to direct material flowing throughsaid gate to said conveyer, means for driving said hopper car in timedrelationship to the movement of said conveyer to permit said conveyer toconvey material away from said hopper, means carried by said hopper carto act successively on said locking means and unlock said gate membersin succession as said hopper car moves through said gallery, means toclose said gate members, and means carried by said hopper car to act onsaid locking means to lock said gate members in a closed position aftersaid gate members have been opened.

5. Material handling apparatus as defined in claim 4 including meanscarried by said hopper car to relieve the load on said gate memberswhile said gate members are being unlocked.

6. In apparatus for handling material of the class described, a conveyergallery, a belt conveyer driven through said gallery, a car movablethrough said gallery, a hopper carried by said car and located abovesaid belt, means actuated by said belt to drive said car in a directionand at a speed to remove material deposited on said belt by said hopperaway from said car, a continuou gate structure serving as a ceiling forsaid gallery and as a floor on which material to be reclaimed may bedeposited, said continuous gate structure comprising spaced supportingmembers defining a gate space therebetween, said gate space extendingabove and parallel to said belt, adjacent gate plates, each pivotallymounted in said supporting members for movement from a horizontalposition to a vertical position in which the center of gravity is belowthe point of pivotal support in said supporting members, adjacent edgesof said gate plates substantially touching when said gate plates are intheir horizontal position closing the gate space, and pivotally mountedlugs for locking the gate plates in their horizontal closed position, afirst cam means carried by said hopper car for acting on said lugs toallow said gate plates to fall to a vertical position above said hopper,means carried by said hopper car for raising said gate plates to aclosed position, and a second cam means carried by said car for actingon aid lugs to lock said gate plates in a closed position, said firstand second cam means and said gate closing means being located on saidcar with respect to the direction of travel of said car to first openand then close said gate plates in succession and above said hopper assaid car is driven through said gallery.

7. In apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said gate closing means,said first and second cam means, and means for exerting upward pressureon the undersurface of gate plates comprising a gate operating assemblycarried by said hopper car, and including means to disengage said gateoperating assembly from said gate structure.

8. In apparatus of the class described, gate operating means for acontinuous gate comprising a plurality of successive gate members eachlocked by pivotally mounted locking lugs, said gate operating meanscomprising a car driven beneath the continuous gate, a first cam meansengaging the locking lugs of a gate member to unlock said member, meansto move a gate member to a closed position, and a second cam means toengage the locking lugs to lock the gate member in a closed position,said cam means being carried by said car, and means to drive said car,whereby successive gate members will be unlocked and then looked as saidcar is driven beneath the gate structure.

9. In apparatus of the class described, gate operating means for acontinuous gate structure comprised of successive pivotally mounted gateplates each normally locked in a closed position, said gate operatingmeans comprising a car driven under said continuous gate structure, ahopper on said car, a gate operating assembly mounted on said hopper andcomprising a first cam means for releasing the gate locking means, meansfor swinging a gate plate to its closed position, and a second cam meansadjacent said gate closing means to actuate the gate-locking means andlock said gates in a closed position, whereby said gate structure willbe opened at integers above said hopper.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including a plate supporting rollerlocated adjacent said first cam means, and means to urge said rollerinto engagement with gate plates thereabove, whereby the load on thefirst cam means will be relieved by the efiect oi the pressure exertedby the plate supporting roller upon the gate plates to be unlocked bythe first cam means.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including means to withdraw thegate operating assembly from engagement with the gate structure.

12. In an apparatus for handling material of the class described, acontinuous gate structure comprising means defining a longitudinallyextending gate opening, a plurality of removable gate platescontinuously biased toward an open position but normally held in aposition to close said gate opening, means associated with each of saidgate plates for releasably holding its associated plate in a closedposition, the closing means for each gate plate being independent of theclosing means for the other gate plates and means to actuate said gateplate holding means successively to release said gate plates, wherebysuccessive actuation of said gate plate holding means to release theirassociated plates will open successive integers of said gate opening.

13. In apparatus for handling material of the class described, acontinuous gate structure comprising supporting means defining alongitudinally extending gate opening, spaced pivots carried by saidsupporting means, said pivots having axes extending transversely of saidgate opening, a gate plate mounted adjacent a transverse edge --i-ngmeans successively to release said gate.

-14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, in which said locking means cempris'e a pair or lugs each pivotally moiiniied in' said siipportm'g memberand pivotable into said 'gaite opening toengage "the undersurface of anassociate-gate plate when said gate plate is in a -hox i'zo'ntalpesition.

15'. In apparatus afior handling material of the class described, thecontinuous gene structure comprising longitudinally extending supports,a plurality of adjacent atei lates -=ea;ch pivota l'ly mounted aboutanaX-is transverse said longitudinal supports for movement mm ahorizontal 12. the betweeii said "t6 a veetieany position opening thespace petweensaiu supports, the pivotal axis em 'pra tes b'eingaboveth'eir o'f gra' J-ity w ens'afd plates are a wertieal positien, andassociated with each "of said plates for "locking :asseeiated plate inits horizontal .p'o=- sit-ion, the-leaking means for 'eaeh gate platebeing independent of the iocking means for the other gateplates, andmeans to actuate said plate holdings-means successively to release saidplates -and permit movement of said plates from a locke'd horizontal.position to a vertical position. I

Jos EPz i-ELDiJNAsmz REFERENCES cITEn ":Ph'e renewing references are atrecord in the meet this patent:

' D @TAT'ES PATENTS" -Num ber Name Date 79L,352 Marcus May 3Q, 19051,054,272 Brackett Feb. 25, 19-13 Witkowski Oct. 26, 1926

